Freshii strives to make “healthy food affordable and convenient.” The chain seems to be doing both well, as there’s enough demand that Freshii is located in more than 60 cities and 12 countries.
The menu is comprised of salads/wraps (you can convert a salad to a wrap), bowls, burritos, soups and smoothies. While all the items are vegetable-based, you can add proteins such as chicken, steak or tuna. Note that one of my visits was by invitation for the restaurant’s pre-opening.
My favorite dish was the Fiesta wrap ($7.49; field greens, black beans, avocado, aged cheddar, corn, pico de gallo, cilantro lime vinaigrette). When you bite into this, your mouth will be greeted with bright, fresh flavors. The tuna ($2.49) I added made this one of the best tuna wraps/sandwiches I’ve ever had.
The Buddha’s Satay bowl ($7.24) seemed promising, but I felt like a rabbit eating it with its overdose of carrots and broccoli. Frankly, the crispy wontons were the only item that gave this salad any flavor, as the rice noodles were extraordinarily bland, and there were only minuscule pieces of steak ($2.49) included (you can’t even see any in the photo).
I liked the density of the Smokehouse burrito ($7.99), which is made with brown rice, black beans, red onions, tomatoes, corn, aged cheddar and a surprisingly wonderful BBQ sauce. I ordered my burrito with falafel ($1.49), and I longed for a side of that sauce in which to dip the burrito.
Out of all the three soups, I tried the Southwestern ($6.99), a soothing concoction of chicken broth, brown rice, broccoli, tomatoes, corn and aged cheddar. All the vegetables were tender.
When you’re thirsty, quaff a juice or smoothie ($5.99). The ones I tried–the Green Energy Juice (apple, cucumber, kale, lemon, carrot, romaine, spinach), the Strawberry Banana Smoothie (strawberries, banana, low-fat frozen yogurt) and the Mighty Detox Juice (pineapple, ginger, apple, celery, cucumber)–were surprisingly not too thick and had semi-sweet, non-grassy flavors. I’d get the strawberry version again if it weren’t for the price.
Freshii is open Monday-Saturday for breakfast, lunch, dinner and carryout. Catering and delivery are available.
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See more photos in our Freshii Flickr album.
Tags: vegetarian, west side
